Bolivar, Mo. – The Bearcats played host to Emporia State Friday afternoon, defeating the Hornets 5-3 in game one and 3-2 in game two. The sweep was SBU's first conference sweep of the year, coming against last season's MIAA tournament champions. With the two wins, SBU improves to 5-26 (2-4 MIAA).
 
Game One
The first few innings went very quick, the only SBU hit coming from Morgan McMullin and Paige St. Pierre. Emporia State broke the scoreless tie in the 4^th inning, taking a 2-0 lead. After ESU took the lead, SBU bounced back, cutting the lead in half thanks to a Morgan McMullin home run to left field. The Hornets again took a two run lead, scoring another run in the 5^th inning to make the score 3-1.
 
After a quick 5^th inning, the Bearcats had a monster 6^th inning. Leading things off was Paige St. Pierre, driving a double to center field. The Hornets got an out, but Megan Schellert followed with a single, advancing to second on an error and moving Paige St. Pierre over to third. Miranda Aguilar was the next batter, driving in St. Pierre and advancing Schellert to third with a single to left field. Taryn Elia took over at first, pinch running for Aguilar. Following Aguilar's single, Morgan McMullin also hit a single and advanced to second on an error, driving in Schellert and moving Elia over to third, tying the ball game at 3-3. The next Bearcat lined out to shortstop, beginning a wild series of events. ESU's shortstop attempted to back pick Elia at third after the lineout, but she sailed the ball over the third baseman's head, rolling into the SBU dugout. Morgan McMullin had started advancing toward third, therefore, both runs were allowed to come home due to runners getting the base they were advancing toward, plus one. Thanks to the wild play, SBU took a 5-3 lead heading into the final frame.
 
The Bearcats got a quick first out in the 7^th, but the Hornets hit a single to get some momentum. On the next play, SBU killed their momentum and ended the game with a 6-4-3 double play.
 
Morgan McMullin went 3-3 in game one, driving in 2 RBIs and scoring 2 runs as well. Paige St. Pierre also had 2 hits on the afternoon, going 2-3 at the plate.
 
Game Two
Emporia State led off the game with a single to right field. An error on the next ball in play scored the ESU runner, giving the Hornets a 1-0 lead early on. Paige St. Pierre led off for SBU, driving a single to left field. She was moved to second on a sacrifice bunt, but wouldn't get any further. ESU got another base runner in the 2^nd, but Miranda Aguilar hosed her as she attempted to steal second, getting the Bearcats out of the inning unharmed.
 
The next couple of innings went quickly, Morgan McMullin continued her big day with a single in the 4^th. Emporia State was able to get runners on first and second with no outs in the 5^th, but solid defense got SBU out of the jam. With two outs in the bottom of the 5^th, Kori Hillenburg reached on an error by the left fielder, advancing to second on the play. Paige St. Pierre followed, driving in Hillenburg with a single into right field, making it a 1-1 ball game. The Hornets led off the 6^th with a double but a nice defensive play got the batter out and the runner out in the same play.
 
Leading off the 6^th inning was Megan Schellert, singling through the right side. Emma Ezzell pinch hit and reaching on a bunt, putting runners on first and second. Morgan McMullin came up clutch once again, smacking a single to right field to score Schellert and advance Ezzell to third, giving SBU a 2-1 lead. The next batter was Lauren Strobel, driving in SBU's third run with a sacrifice fly, 3-1 Bearcats. Emporia State scored one in the 7^th inning, but Alexis Dock got the last batter to strikeout, ending the game 3-1.
 
Morgan McMullin collected another 2 hits in game two, going 5-6 with 3 RBIs on the day. Paige St. Pierre also added another 2 hits to her total, finishing 4-6 on the afternoon. Kaylee Scmidli was credited with the win, pitching 6.0 innings, giving up just 3 hits and 0 earned runs.
 
The Bearcats take on Washburn, the defending MIAA regular season champions, on Saturday starting at 11 AM.